Waste batteries bring power to East Africa

Shell LiveWIRE UK alumnus, and Global Winner of the 2017 Shell LiveWIRE Top Ten Innovators, Aceleron, is partnering with the Shell Foundation to enable its revolutionary waste battery energy storage technology to provide accessible, affordable, energy solutions to off-grid communities in East Africa.

Aceleron is a clean-tech start-up which transforms end-of-life lithium batteries, such as those found in electric vehicles, into safe, cost-effective storage for renewable energy. The company’s groundbreaking energy storage solution won it a Shell LiveWIRE UK Smarter Future Award of £5k (US $7k) in 2016, and its co-founder, Carlton Cummins, was named Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2016, winning a further £25k (US $35k) to invest in the development of the business. Further success, and an additional award of US $15k, was achieved when Carlton went on to become Global Award Winner of the Shell LiveWIRE Top Ten Innovators 2017; the global awards programme to recognise and reward outstanding innovation in business from Shell LiveWIRE’s international alumni.

The partnership with the Shell Foundation will see an initial pilot to deploy over 200 lithium battery packs for solar energy storage in two areas: solar pumps for irrigation; and, solar powered appliances for homes and businesses.

The Shell Foundation is an independent UK charity that addresses development challenges of access to energy and sustainable mobility by supporting a portfolio of pioneering social enterprises with funding and hands-on business support.

Commenting on the partnership with Aceleron, Jordan Broadbent, Business Manager at Shell Foundation, said, “The potential in Aceleron’s technology and team to deliver impact across low-income markets at scale is exciting. At Shell Foundation, we are confident that the pilot will demonstrate the company’s capacity to improve the efficiency and productivity of off-grid enterprises, and to be a catalyst for innovation in energy storage across the sector.”

Welcoming Shell Foundation’s support, Dr Amrit Chandan, Co-Founder and CEO of Aceleron, said, “We look forward to working closely with the Shell Foundation to bring positive social impact to people in East Africa, and beyond, helping them to access more affordable energy storage. We are immensely grateful to both the Shell Foundation team and Shell LiveWIRE for the generous support thus far, as we would not have developed as quickly without their involvement.”